Donald Trump's long-time preoccupation with the border wall hasn't gone away, it appears, and the POTUS is taking care of the project down to the smallest details.
According to The Washington Post, the president told the chief army engineer that the barrier should be "physically imposing but also aesthetically pleasing" — something resembling a Gothic-style dark wall with pointed tips.
Trump reportedly told White House aides and military engineers that he wants the wall to be painted "flat black" so it could absorb more heat, making it more difficult for potential border-crossers to climb over it.
For similar reasons, Trump wants the barrier − which is basically going to be a steel fence rather than a solid concrete structure − to have bollards with spikey, rather than round, tips.
It is also understood that he is not happy with the current blueprints for the entrances for individuals and vehicles, saying that they should be narrower.
Back in February, Trump's former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski said that the president had already thought about painting sections of the existing border wall black.
"He was talking about repainting part of the border wall down in Mexico so it's hotter in the sun," Lewandowski stated.
Trump has campaigned on a pledge to build an "impenetrable and beautiful" wall along the entire 3,150-kilometre-long Mexico border in addition to the existing structures to prevent illegal immigrants from crossing into the United States.
However, after Democrats gained a majority in the House of Representatives in the 2018 mid-term election, Trump found himself incapable of getting securing the $5.7 billion he said he required for the barrier to be built.
READ MORE: Pentagon to Redirect Money From Ballistic Missiles to Border Wall — Reports
Differences with Democratic lawmakers resulted into a month-long partial shutdown of government agencies. Trump ended the shutdown in late January, declaring a national emergency at the southern border three weeks later in a move that enabled him to divert military funds toward the project.
House Democrats voted to overturn Trump's declaration, but he issued his first-ever presidential veto to block the measure. In late March, another vote failed to secure the two-thirds majority required to override the veto.
